How Michael Carberry fought stomach cancer to become a sketch artist

lsquoGod gives his hardest battles to his toughest soldiersrsquo Michael Carberry 38 the former England opener can relate to thisFirst the wait to break into the England team frustrated him for more than four years And when he finally got his chance in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2010 after Andrew Strauss was rested a few months later he was laid low with a blood clot in the lungs The lefthanded opener fought back into the team from the careerthreatening illness but the 201314 Ashes in Australia where England lost 05 claimed many places and Carberry was one of the victimsAs he moved county clubs to find a way to reclaim his English spot he was jolted by the death of his younger sisterThen in 2016 Carberry suffered his lifersquos biggest blow when he was diagnosed with cancer in his stomach He did bounce back from it and managed to find a county club but a breakdown in relationship with Leicestershire forced him to hang up his bootsFirst bat now pencilIt didnrsquot take a lot of time for Carberry to find another career path for himself By bidding adieu to his willow Carberry took to another piece of wood albeit a lot smaller mdash the pencilThe butterfliesinthestomach situation is similar to what it was when he first walked out to bat with Alastair Cook as Carberry prepares to showcase his sketches to the public for the first time on June 14 at an art gallery in LondonldquoI am using the skills I learnt in cricket in my art now I have practised a lot There have been so many drawings that didnrsquot work out and have been binned Again it is all about perseverance It is like batting in a lot of ways You start your innings you may feel nice about something or you are tired but you still stick in there and see things happening along The response I have been getting has been amazingrdquo says Carberry at a coffee shop in Thorn Heath the home of Crystal Palace football clubMichael Carberry sketches WIs Chris GayleHe was very fond of sketching since he was in school ldquoI was away with cricket for 16 years thereafter I felt I had lost some of my skillsrdquo says Carberry who featured in six Tests six ODIs and one T20I for EnglandSketches provide solace while he was recovering from the Big C ldquoIt gave my mind something else to focus on when I was going through the recovery process from cancer I found that I was in more peaceful placeA massive joltldquoThings were going well It was a massive jolt to find out that I had cancer That year did not really go wellhellip felt very very tired I started losing weight and felt all those symptoms of cancer It rocked my world It took seven to eight months to get back the body in playing conditionldquoThere were paper and pencils around I discovered something on YouTube and on social media about a UKbased artist Kelvin Okafor I was blown away by his work It was done with just a pencil I saw some other stuff on the YouTube of a pencil and charcoal artist They teach you how to be accurate with your sketchesrdquo says Carberry who also coaches a school team hereCarberryrsquos purpose behind his sketches is the people who inspire him ldquoI just donrsquot draw people I always think about why I am drawing I have always been inspired by peoplersquos journeys and how they have achieved them So they need not necessarily be famous people They could be very successful business people whom I have met heard or read about I am inspired by people who inspire change and those who are not afraid to go against the system and speak their mindHis inspirationsldquoBob Marley spoke a lot about social issues globally Martin Luther King brought a change of certain establishments John Lennon is another one I have sketched As far as sport is concerned Anthony Joshua professional English boxer is someone I am a massive fan of His story for me is very inspiring He didnrsquot have the greatest start in his life but the way he has turned it around is massive He is arguably one of the iconic sportsmen going around at the moment There are cricketers who have inspired me like Shane Warne who is very outspoken He was a great help to me at Hampshirerdquo says CarberryIt is no surprise that Carberry loves people who speak their mind He did the same with Leicestershire CCC and was stripped off his captaincy last year abruptly ending his cricket career ldquoI stood by my principles against Leicestershire who were allowed to behave very badly in a very corrupt system I was happy to walk away from something I loved so much I wouldnrsquot like to dwell on it now as that chapter is over and I have moved on I could have found another county team for myself as I am still fit enough but I knew the journey will end soon and I didnrsquot want to hang in just to pay my mortgages I didnrsquot want a young guyrsquos career being held up because of me and it was an easy decision to makerdquo he says about his retirementBy the way during our conversation he revealed he has decided to retire from all forms of the gameWith the World Cup being played here Carberry has just started a new sketch to pay a tribute to Indian legend MS Dhoni ldquoIt could be his Dhoni last World Cup sadly I was fortunate to play against him during the 2012 Champions League in Johannesburg He is an absolute legend absolutely ice cool My next will be another legend in the making Virat Kohli I have a great admiration for him as wellrdquo he saysCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates